


Death by Papercuts

by blakefancier



Series: Young Lovers [52]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-10
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-04-25 16:16:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4967689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blakefancier/pseuds/blakefancier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Howard and Peggy discuss many things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Death by Papercuts

Howard tried not to fidget too much, but he was having a difficult time; he couldn't find the right position to ease the aching of his shoulder *and* still see his laptop screen. He was thinking about giving up and just going back to bed, but Jarvis had promised him a snack. And he really did need to finish these reports by the end of the year or Obadiah was going to glare at him to death—who said being CEO of a multi-billion dollar company was glamorous? If it was, then Howard was doing it wrong. 

He listed to the left and tilted his head. Maybe he should try doing this at the dining table instead of his desk. He tilted his head to the other side and narrowed his eyes. He didn't look up when the door to his study opened. "I hope you brought coffee with that snack, Jarvis, because I could use another infusion of caffeine."

"I'm not Jarvis," said a distinctly feminine voice.

Howard jerked his head up, eyes wide, and stared at Peggy who was standing at the doorway, looking pale and delicate, though he was sure she could still kick his ass. "What are you doing out of the hospital?" he asked, outraged. "Sit down before you fall over." 

Peggy rolled her eyes, but slowly made her way to the guest chair and sank down into it. "What do you mean, what am I doing out of the hospital? You're not in the hospital." 

"I also didn't have surgery. Please tell me you didn't check yourself out against doctor's orders. You didn't drive here, did you?"

"Howard, relax, they released me a few hours ago. And no, I didn't drive; my niece brought me. You remember her, don't you? Sharon."

Howard frowned and thought back; he did remember that from time to time, Peggy would bring a little blonde girl with skinned knees and messy hair with her. "The little girl with the Wonder Woman doll?"

"Yes, Howard. The little girl with the Wonder Woman doll who is now twenty years old and in college."

"Oh." That threw him a bit.

"Your snack is going to be late. I believe Mr. Jarvis mentioned something about feeding Sharon some milk and cookies." She smirked when Howard laughed. 

"So why aren't you at home, snug in your bed, Peg?" Howard leaned back in his chair, wincing as his shoulder twinged. "You'd better not be here to check on security because my lawyers will have a fit; you're on medical leave." 

"I just want to be sure that they're taking this threat on your life seriously," she said and Howard groaned. 

"The lawyers, Peggy. The lawyers."

"Oh, bugger the lawyers. If that little monster is out there, security for you, Steve, and Isaiah is going to need to be airtight." 

Howard hummed softly. "So you think Nick is right, that Schmidt is really out there and that he wants to kill Steve and Isaiah." 

"Don't you?" Peggy frowned at him. "Do you?"

That was the sixty four thousand dollar question and one he'd been puzzling over since his visit with Nick. "I don't know. I… Honestly, I don't think he wanted to kill Steve. I think that Steve was an accident. It may be why he killed the assassin. Steve's the other person like him."

"What about Isaiah?"

"There's no way Schmidt's racist little brain could conceive of the idea that Isaiah was on his level. But Steve? Blond haired, blue eyed, Steve—he's an Aryan's wet dream." It was an awful way to think about Steve, but it was true all the same.

Peggy smiled at him. "Yes, except for that damn homosexuality." 

"Yeah." He smiled back at her, then sighed. "I think he'd be willing to overlook that. I don't think that Isaiah or his family is in any danger—not that I'd pull the security detail on them—but I'd double security on Steve and Sarah." But no doubt Peggy already knew this; he'd told Nick the very same thing days ago.

She nodded thoughtfully. "I think we should tell them about Schmidt. I know you and Nick already had a discussion about this, but they have a right to know. They should know to look out for him."

"No," Howard said forcefully, perhaps too forcefully.

Peggy narrowed her eyes and stared at him for a moment. "Are you afraid of Steve finding about Operation Rebirth?"

"We're not even sure it's Schmidt." Howard rubbed the bridge of his nose. "And you know I would never put Steve in danger just to protect my reputation. That said, I'm not going to endanger my relationship with Steve on a possibility." Because it would ruin it; there were some things even Steve wouldn't forgive. "Give me proof, give me good solid proof that it's Schmidt, and I'll tell them myself." 

Peggy bit her bottom lip, and then nodded; he knew she was going to make it her mission to find that proof. "When is Steve supposed to be home?"

"Tomorrow. Sarah decided to stay an extra day and spend it with the family." Howard grimaced; he missed the hell out of Steve and could hardly wait for him to get home. "Since Tony's gonna be with his mom in California for another few weeks, Steve and I are going spend New Year's Eve together." 

"That sounds nice." Peggy smiled at him. "Sharon's on holiday, so she'll be staying with me until it's time for her to go back to school."

"I could hire you a nurse, if Nick doesn't provide one for you." Howard gave her a wry look; they both knew she still had strong ties to SHIELD. He didn't much care, but he usually pretended not to notice.

"I'll be fine, Howard. This isn't the first time I've been injured in the line of duty." At his wince, she tsked. "It's better than getting shot and almost bleeding out in the damn desert." 

"That doesn't really make me feel better, Peg."

"It wasn't supposed to." She slowly got to her feet. "I should probably rescue Sharon from Mr. Jarvis. He can be very persistent when it comes to feeding young people." 

Howard laughed softly. "Yeah, it's his mother hen instinct. When you see him, tell him that I'll take that snack."

"Tell him yourself." She smirked. "I'm on medical leave." 

He threw a paperclip at her, deliberately missing, and she laughed all the way out the door.


End file.
